"Fresh" is a song by the American group Kool & the Gang. Released as a single in 1984 from the albumEmergency, the song peaked at #11 on the UK chart, #9 on the U.S. Hot 100 charts, and was number one on both the U.S. R&B and dance charts. The song introduced a new meaning to the word "fresh", meaning "good".
Chart performance
Weekly singles charts
Year-end charts
Music video
The action in the music video references the fairy tale Cinderella with the band performing the song at the ball. The two overweight women, the Ugly Sisters, are seen eating sandwiches, and a girl, Cinderella, cleaning the floor. Then suddenly Marilyn-lookalike Fairy appears and saves the day.
Popular culture
This song was played on the 5733rd episode of the American television soap "General Hospital" on August 14, 1985, when Terri was going wild at the bar. In Edward Yang's 1986 film Terrorizers this song is played in a dance club when the young woman wants to attract a man so she and a criminal gang can steal his money.
"Fresh" was re-recorded with English-Irish pop groupLiberty X in 2004, to feature on Kool & the Gang's re-recorded greatest hits compilation, The Hits: Reloaded. The new version of the song features Liberty X on vocals, with Kool & the Gang merely playing the instruments. Thus, due to the popularity of this version, it was released as a single in certain European countries on April 14, 2004. Despite its success across Europe, the single was never released in Liberty X's home country, the United Kingdom.
Background
Subsequently, "Fresh" appeared as a bonus track on the Liberty X album Being Somebody in Japan, as well as appearing on certain European editions. At the time of the single's release, the band were in a dispute with their British record label, V2 Records, and thus, it was decided that the single would not be released in the band's home country. The band's version of "Fresh" was produced by band member Tony Lundon, who also went on to produce the band's follow-up hit single, "Song 4 Lovers". Despite this, "Fresh" was regarded as one of the band's best cover versions. The track peaked at number three in Germany, number 12 in France and number 55 in Spain.
Music video
The music video for the single was recorded in late 2003, and features Liberty X playing to an audience in a club, all supported by mics and surrounded by a crowd of the group's fans. Although the video does not feature a vocal appearance from Kool & The Gang, they appear as guests inside the club, charming a woman who has arrived in search of a man. The video received a small amount of airplay on British music channels, but was often, as is with its upload to the band's official YouTube channel, credited to Liberty X featuring Kool & The Gang, whereas the official release credits the two artists the other way around.
